Yume
by winnerXxXloser
Summary: And before I knew it, there was a bright, blinding light and everything went blank.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice Academy nor Yumenara Samenaide by Yasuko. If you haven't read Yumenara Samenaide, I recommend it greatly, because of the unexpected twist in the story. It's just a oneshot so it'll only take a few minutes…:D Anyway, this fanfic was more or less patterned after Yumenara Samenaide. I apologize because I am not really a fan of Alice Academy and I only got to watch a few episodes, though I tried really hard to keep the characters just like in the anime… Enjoy (and feel free to comment..or something..XD)! :D**

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><p><strong>Yume<strong>

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><p><em>I grabbed her hand and led her away from harm. But even as I did, that unknown mysterious thing was able to catch up with us. I resolved not to use my alice because if I did and it failed, I don't know what will happen to her after I'm gone.<em>

_Then, out of nowhere, a beam nearly hit her. That was enough to piss me off. My eyes blazed with fire, almost literally. Anyway, I didn't care even if I lost half my life, as long as I knew that what I was going to do would save her._

_There was a look of horror on her face. "No! Natsume, don't think about doing it!"_

_"Idiot, as if I'm gonna lose to this weakling who only knows how to hide."_

_The attacks were nearing now. I pulled her down behind a bush and ordered her to shut her mouth up. She was sobbing so loudly._

_Then, "it" came. I was about to give my all but she stood up and clung to me tightly._

_"Mikan, you bastard! Get off me!"_

_And before I knew it, there was a bright, blinding light and everything went blank._

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><p>Natsume opened his eyes and blinked many times before his eyes got accustomed to the bright, blinding light that filled his surroundings. As he looked around, he noticed a woman in her early twenties staring back at him. She was very pretty, with caramel-colored hair and light features. Her face reminded him of Mikan, but the atmosphere around her seemed heavy. It looked like she was about to cry and something in her eyes was different. Did it really look dull and lifeless or was it just because of the dim lights in the room?<p>

"…Who are you?" he asked, finding it almost hard to speak.

The woman looked dumbstruck at first, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled faintly at him.

"Oh, I'm just a distant relative. I'll go call the doctor and tell him you regained your consciousness already. Then maybe you can be discharged from the hospital right away."

"Wait! Where's Mikan? How is she? Could you please bring me to her?"

She started for a second, then smiled a sweet but obviously fake smile at him. "You have been asleep for too long. In fact, tomorrow was supposed to mark three months since you lost consciousness. You're mixing reality with your dreams because that person does not exist. Now, why don't you go and rest some more?" And with that, the woman left the room.

Natsume gazed at the door. It was just then that reality sank in; he realized that he was lying on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. And for the first time in his life, a feeling of confusion and hopelessness flooded him.

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><p>Questions were flooding Natsume's mind and it was clear that he was already drowning in that muddy swamp of thoughts. First off: what the hell was happening? Was he really mixing reality with his dreams? But he was absolutely positive that the last thing he did before he lost consciousness was to release a great amount ofalice, unless…<p>

Natsume's attention was drawn to the metal table beside the bed that he was lying on. He can see his distorted reflection and was assured that nothing weird happened to his body. Except for one tiny detail.

"Holy crap! What the…" he exclaimed as he realized that his body looked like it had added a few years on it, when he presumed that he had only slept for a couple of days.

_Okay, Natsume, calm down. Maybe using an extensive amount of alice does not take away a few years from my life, but actually adds a few years to my actual age. Yes, that must be it._

He smiled half-heartedly and sighed. He was getting more pathetic and desperate as time passed by. Well, assuring yourself won't get you somewhere but at least, it provided a temporary feeling of comfort, however illogical it may seem. For all you know, it really might be the truth.

But still, something was really odd. He needed to know where the heck did Mikan go, and it was obvious that his so-called "distant relative" knew something about her disappearance. He would lie low for a while and do everything that she wants. And when he thinks that the woman had given him her full trust, that's the time when he would force the truth out of her.

He was in this chain of thoughts when the door creaked open. It was the woman and beside her was a doctor.

For the next ten minutes, the doctor performed some examinations to confirm that his status was already stable. Afterwards, the doctor issued a discharge slip and allowed them to leave the hospital immediately, because it seemed that the woman was in a hurry.

All throughout the procedures, Natsume remained silent and not once did he utter a word of disapproval, nor did something that would contradict what the woman wanted. And starting from that moment, he knew that his plan was already in progress and he was eager to see it work immediately.

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><p>"I'm off to work, and I don't think I be back by early morning because of my part-time jobs. Be careful, don't go outside and lock the door. Oh, and there's a cup of noodles in that cardboard box over there, in case you feel hungry. Make yourself at home."<p>

Natsume frowned. What was he, some kind of a delinquent kid or a hopeless person who needed attention? Also, it had not been long since they stepped into the woman's apartment, yet she was already leaving again.

_Pssh… as if I care about where you're going…_

The woman closed the door behind her. Natsume looked around the room, which was totally empty, save for a few pieces of "furniture". There was a rolled-up sleeping mat in a corner, with a few pillows, and opposite that corner was a small electric stove and the cardboard box which contained some packed food items. In another side of the room was a door, which Natsume assumed to be the bath room; beside that door was a small cabinet, which was closed. And in the middle of the room, there was a fairly small sitting mat and a small table.

Natsume felt a pang of guilt. The inadequate amount of furniture in the woman's house. The woman's low standard of living. The numerous part-time jobs. Was it because of his hospital bills?

Oh well, nobody forced her to take care of him, anyway. It was her fault for not thinking about herself first… Seriously, he was getting more and more paranoid.

_Ahh… The room is spinning… It must be the effect of my being asleep for so long._

He decided to unfurl the sleeping mat and lie face down. His head was throbbing and he couldn't breathe. After some time, he fell asleep with the coldness of the floor seeping through the mat and making his body shiver.

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><p><em>His hand felt clammy as he stood there, facing the unknown opponent. But even at that time, he tried not to show Mikan that he was really afraid. Afraid at what will happen to Mikan if he failed to protect her.<em>

_He felt a surge of energy as he tried to convert his anger into power. He was almost about to finish off the enemy when someone suddenly blocked him._

_"Mikan, you bastard, get off me!"_

_Then everything disappeared into the intense light and he heard a faint howl of anguish._

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><p>He heard the tapping of raindrops on the window and the howling of the wind outside before he saw it. Natsume opened his eyes, stood up slowly and looked out of the window. The weather outside clearly depicted what he was feeling right now.<p>

He had dreamt about it again. If it was really a hallucination, then why were the details almost exactly the same from what he remembered?

Something outside caught his attention. He peered at the window, and faintly saw two opened umbrellas. Their owners seem to be conversing about something.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew one umbrella away and its owner was soaked in the heavy rain.

Natsume blinked his eyes. Is it really his imagination or the girl running towards the flown umbrella had a familiar set of pigtails?

Without having a second thought, he rushed out of the door and ran outside. His heart was beating madly.

_She's alive! I knew it! Everything is not a dream! That woman was a fake, and she was only trying to divert my attention from the truth!_

But when he arrived outside, there was no one there, save for a tall and lonely figure clutching an umbrella.

"Didn't I tell you to lock the door and never go outside? Can't you understand a simple instruction as that?"

It was the woman, and she had an irritated look on her face.

Natsume was dumbstruck. His head was throbbing again and he couldn't breathe properly. He was beginning to get drenched in the strong rain.

"Where is Mikan? I'm sure I saw her here. I can't be mistaken. She was standing right here, in this same spot..."

He got furious. He tried to walk towards the woman to make her tell the truth. But as he did, he felt his body go numb and he fell on the ground.

The last thing that he saw before he passed out was the woman's face, filled with concern, as she ran to his side as raindrops fell on his face.

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><p>A drop of water fell on his lips. Though it was a bit salty, it was surprisingly calming. He saw the woman crying, and he felt that his head was resting on the woman's lap. He tried to get up but the woman kept him from doing so. Natsume remained lying down. He was getting frustrated at everything.<p>

"Mikan was there and I saw her. Now, let's hear your stupid excuse, saying Mikan was not that person…"

"Yes, that girl was Mikan."

He blinked in disbelief. So, finally, she admitted it…

"She did come here. But she asked me not to tell it to you; you might become sad and you would keep her from going away. She told me to take care of you because she was leaving the country. I… I'm sorry…"

Deep in his heart, Natsume knew that everything was still a lie. He did not believe it; he _could not_ believe it. But he remained quiet about it and decided to clear all misunderstandings by himself.

"What about your work? Why did you come back?"

The woman shifted uneasily. "Oh, that. I was only checking on you, and I needed to get a few things I left. Well, I'll be going now."

_She's avoiding answering more questions about that fake excuse._

Natsume sat up and the woman slowly got on her feet, picked up a bag that was lying nearby and walked to the door.

"Wait, before you leave, I have a question."

Again, that fake smile. "What is it?"

"Could you tell me your name?"

"Ah…It's uh… Nami…"

"Oh, ok. You better get going."

"Ah… Yeah, you're right."

The door closed behind her.

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><p>Natsume's attention was turned to the small cabinet. When he arrived from the hospital a few hours ago, it had been closed. Yet now, it was half-opened, with some clothes scattered outside of it.<p>

_Though this "Nami" woman has a dark character, she is actually somewhat a disorganized person._

He picked up the pieces of clothing strewn across the floor and shoved it in the cabinet. But before he could close the cabinet door, a small, brown, hardbound book caught his eye. He picked it up and turned it all over, hoping to see some indications as to what the book contains, but nothing was there. His curiosity got the most of him so he decided to open the book.

_Well, it's not like I am prying on someone else's things, but I think I have sufficient reasons to open this… Just a scan will do._

Natsume flipped the first few pages. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was actually just a pocketbook. But as he scanned the other pages, a photo fluttered out and fell faced-down on the floor.

He picked it up and as he did, he felt goose bumps all over his body. His hand trembled, as he strained to verify if what he was seeing was true.

_This… This is a picture of my whole class in Alice Academy! But where… why are Mikan and I not here? I recalled being tugged by Mikan for a class picture, but why aren't we present here?_

Someone knocked on the door. Natsume placed the picture inside the pocketbook quickly and shoved it in the closet. He went to the door and opened it.

A person who appeared to be Hotaru glared up at him from the other side of the door. She was still the same; she had the same height and face from what he remembered.

"So, it's true. You're still here. Don't you have some guilt about you pestering my aunt? She works herself to death to pay your hospital bills, yet here you are, living like a king and lifting not even a finger to pay her back?"

Her words stung him and he wasn't able to speak. Yes, this kid with a very sharp tongue had to be Hotaru, no matter how he looked at her.

But before he could answer back, she had turned her heels and sauntered away.

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><p>His heel hurt from kneeling. He was in this position for almost three hours, ever since a girl who looked like Hotaru scolded him for being a nuisance to her "aunt". Then there was also the photo of his class.<p>

Now something is _definitely_ wrong here and he is clueless about it.

_What is really happening? I need to know right now._

As if on cue, the door opened and Nami walked in. She carried a take-out box and smiled at him.

They ate the food in silence. Natsume glanced every now and then to Nami to see any clues whatsoever that would give her away and reveal her lies. But she sat there, as if she was doing nothing wrong and had no cares in this world.

_She sure is a tough woman to look that way even though she came from a series of part-time jobs._

The meal was over. Nami stood to clean up the table and she walked near the sink, her back turned from him. She seemed defenseless and did not suspect that Natsume was plotting something.

_Now's the chance!_

Natsume sprang up and grabbed her hair while the other hand produced a ball of flame.

"Don't move, if you want to live. Just do everything I say. Tell me who you are and where you hid Mikan."

The woman remained silent and motionless. Natsume got infuriated.

"DON'T YOU CARE FOR YOUR DAMN LIFE? WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE IS SHE?"

No response.

He shoved his flaming hand into her face. But the flame went out as if it had been blown by the wind.

Natsume blinked. This is impossible. He knew only one person who has the ability to deflect his alice. Only one person can be a match for him.

Natsume loosened his grip on her hair. He held her forehead gently and embraced her from behind, tears streaming down his face.

"How old are you now… Mikan?

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><p><em>We had been walking for a few hours now. How big was this forest really? <em>

_To pass the time, I started an argument which Natsume took up enthusiastically. And such cute faces he was making! It had probably been something about as to why big yellow chicks loved to stay in the forest, but it didn't matter really. I was happy just to have fun with the boy I liked._

_A shadow loomed from behind the trees. I thought it was a classmate or a teacher who was going to rescue us but Natsume was skeptical and hid me behind him._

_It turned out that Natsume's instincts were right. An unknown being closed in on us. Natsume grabbed my hand and we ran aimlessly._

_A beam almost hit me. I can see that Natsume was already fuming and his hand was shaking. I reassured him that I was not hurt but he did not listen to me._

_The attacks were nearing us. He pulled me down and ordered me to shut up. But I couldn't. I don't care what happens to me but I do care if he gets hurt._

_I have seen that stance, that position before and I knew what Natsume was planning to do. But as he concentrated on completing his attack, a bright light from the distance told me that the opponent had been a few split seconds faster than Natsume._

_Without a second thought, I ran to block the attack that was about to hit Natsume. I heard something which was supposed to be Natsume scolding me and a faint, chilling howl before I fainted._

_..._

_When I opened my eyes, I saw myself on a hospital bed and Natsume was on another bed beside mine. He was sleeping so deeply that he did not wake up even after I shook him hard, threatening him that I would slap him for such a bad joke. _

_Narumi-sensei entered the room. He asked how I was doing. I replied, telling him I was fine, except for a few scratches. What I was most concerned about was the fact that Natsume was still not awake._

_Something about Narumi-sensei's edgy actions worried me. Sure enough, he said that the effect of the impact of two opposing strong energies damaged Natsume's body. But because my alice "evolved" and nullified the effect of the opponent's alice on me and Natsume, the damage on his body was less than what he should have received._

_It had been my dream for a long time to use my alice to help others. But I did not know that the price of achieving my dream was making my loved one suffer._

_Teary-eyed, I asked when he would wake up. Narumi-sensei shook his head and looked at me sympathetically. Then those words came: "I'm sorry, but nobody knows."_

__...__

_It seems that the normal life that I had and always wanted to have was slowly slipping away. To add to my predicament, Narumi-sensei advised me to hide Natsume's and my identity in order to prevent more dangerous incidents, like what we have gone through, while further investigations were made. Our names were removed from Alice Academy's database and all our records were destroyed. I assumed a new name, but I think that I have no right to change Natsume's while he was unconscious, so I let it stay as it is._

_Natsume was transferred into a nearby hospital, where the staff there are secretly Alice Academy graduates. They agreed to consider a special case and let Natsume stay until he gets up._

__...__

_Days passed into months. The hospital where Natsume was staying ran into a financial trouble. They could no longer serve anyone for free. _

_One day, as I was visiting Natsume, a doctor approached me._

_"Are you a relative of the patient?"_

_I nodded a little, eyes transfixed on Natsume's body which was only kept alive by big machines beside his bed._

_"Um… We regret to say this but this hospital had been financially unstable for the past few months and we could no longer afford to offer our services for free. We understand that you are still a minor and you don't have a job, so we suggest that we pull the plug. A long time has passed but the patient had not yet awakened, nor showed any signs of recovery."_

_My eyes grew round at what the doctor told me._

_I felt very angry towards him for saying those things. I felt very angry towards that stupid hospital because it was made up mostly of people with special abilities, yet they could not do anything to save Natsume. I was angry at myself for being so hopeless. Lastly, I was angry at Natsume because I do not know what the hell was taking him so long to wake up._

_I shot a look back at that despicable doctor._

_"He's going to keep on living. I shall find a job."_

_The doctor just shrugged."Well then, suit yourself…"_

__...__

_I found a few employers who were willing to accept a minor and managed to juggle paying the hospital bills and keeping myself alive. My only consolation was that someday, Natsume will open his eyes and we'll be together again._

_But it seems that twenty years is a long time to wait. Eventually, my hopes gradually faded and the thought of Natsume waking up became only a dream._

__...__

_A particular day marked the turning point of my life. I was getting ready for my next part-time job and I passed by Natsume's room in the hospital, just as I always did every day. As I got nearer to him, tears formed on my eyes and the truth about him possibly never waking up crashed down on me. I hugged him tight and was on the verge of breaking down in tears when I heard him speak._

_"Mikan, you bastard, get off me…"_

_I was shocked and couldn't believe my ears. I was rooted to the spot and there was nothing I can do except to take a good look at him. A few moments passed and I saw his eyes open. He spoke almost calmly, just like he always did._

_"…Who are you?"_

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><p>Natsume held Mikan close to him. Twenty years had definitely been a long time, but every second that they spend together seems to make up for it.<p>

"Hey."

"Mmm..? What is it?" Mikan snuggled closer to Natsume.

"A few hours ago, who was that girl who looked like you? Her umbrella was blown away by the wind and I saw her pigtails. And who was that girl who looked like Hotaru? That brat scolded me for pestering her "aunt"."

Mikan smiled as she explained. "Ah… that girl who looked like me was the latest invention of Hotaru. She was asked by Hotaru to send me a message. And that girl who looked like Hotaru and called me her aunt? She's Hotaru's daughter… Like mother, like daughter, eh?"

"Yeah…"

Just then, Natsume, thought of teasing Mikan.

"You know, I already realized that it was you from the start."

Mikan laughed aloud, something which she had done for a few years since the accident. He felt it was heaven to hear that sound again, after a long time.

"Oh yeah? Let's hear the reasons."

"Well, I thought it was really stupid to assume an alias that was just your name, only shuffled a bit. I mean, Nami and Mikan? That was so lame…"

Natsume snickered as Mikan's cheeks turned red.

"Well, sorry, I was out of ideas because my mind was really muddled at that time. Well, how about the second reason?"

"I happened to see your clothes in the disorganized closet and I noticed that you haven't changed your preference of clothes. Especially when it comes to strawberries, polka dots…"

"HEY! That was out of limits, you know? You're really making me angry!"

"It was only a wild guess! But I think I hit the bull's eye!"

And with that, Mikan tackled a teary-eyed Natsume, who was almost dying with laughter.

Suddenly, Natsume turned serious.

"Why? What's wrong?" Mikan asked, as she peeked at his face.

Natsume smiled faintly. "Well, you're a big idiot not to realize that you could've done many things in the twenty years you wasted away, caring for me. A normal person would lose hope and just move on with his or her life, but you're really abnormal not to act that way. You knew that I could've fended off for myself and I hate to see you...um... suffering,… because of me…and yet,… you still stood by my side…"

Mikan lifted his face and looked directly in his eyes. She beamed at him and said something which brought him back to the time when he was determined to protect her, no matter what happens.

"You're the idiot to not know the fact that was very obvious from the start. I don't care if I lost twenty, or even a hundred years of my life, if I knew that what I am doing is for you…"

Natsume leaned in to kiss Mikan on the cheek. And with that, both knew that they will never part again.

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><p><strong>That's it folks! Please review! :D<strong>


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